SPRING break was last week and boy did I need a break! Not that my students have been difficult or the grading is crazy (quite the opposite) but it was apparent that I needed to refuel. Actually, I have 1 student who is tardy nearly every day, the 1st period of the day, by 20-30 minutes. (It's a 50 minute class). He came on time, even after the time change, for 9 days straight. I praised him, encouraged him and it seemed to work. He broke his streak this week but I encouraged him none the less. So good things are happening.
There is something about knowing a vacation is coming that makes you want it that much more. Your body starts to show signs of needing rest. Either that or you become more attune to your need for it. Whatever the case is, it was suggested I go to Florida to visit my parents for a few days and after some hesitation, hopped a plane and made it to West Palm Beach.
Let me tell you - sun is underrated. Warm weather, which had been virtually forgotten in Illinois since approximately October, was literally a breath of fresh air. I fell into the Florida lifestyle pretty quickly.
To wake up, patio doors wide open and comfortable air wafting through the home is glorious. Heck, sleeping without 1-2 pounds of blankets and comforters over me was wonderful, too. The sun was out almost the entire week. It really is like the commercials where women scoff when a small cloud passes in front of the sun. I soaked it all up!
I spent a few mornings out doing my 10k training (really behind due to the cold I had but I figure I can still keep training past the 10k and just focus on finishing rather than getting a great time or trying to run the whole thing). My runs were through the gated community where our home is so the traffic is minimal, especially that "late" in the morning when most of the residents are already out on the golf courses or up reading the morning paper. My scenery included wild turkeys, people driving by on golf carts, multiple people out walking lap dogs (is that all people own in Florida?) and the many palm and coconut trees.
We spent 1 day at the beach walking along the shore after a drive down the Intracoastal. Jellyfish were prominent and I have an unreasonable fear of them, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. I recall once as a child down there seeing blue jellyfish littering the beach. Someone must have put the fear of God into me and ever since it's ruined my beach walking along the Atlantic Ocean. Thankfully my parents mentioned they've started a shell collection, so I had a reason to look down for shells in addition to the black blobs of jellyfish. It was almost like I was 9 years old again and all you had to was distract me with a game and I'd keep putting one foot in front of the other. I realized, too, I was spoiled by Chicago's mostly pristine beaches where the worst thing you could step on is a cigarette butt.
We ate out a few times. I had lunch with my mom and cousin Kathy who lives just 20 minutes or so from our place along with her sisters. I haven't seen Kathy since 1991 so that was wonderful. I love spending time with family. We get such short time on this earth and none of it promised so it makes me genuinely happy. I'll have to get to Florida more often! Dinners tended to be healthy and somewhere near water.
We spent one afternoon on a tourboat seeing the extravagant houses of the rich who live in the Intracoastal in Ft. Lauderdale. Insane. The yachts are gargantuan and the houses are enormous. There are some where you think to yourself, "only 2 people live there?" and others were you learn the people are there just a month or two or in one case, have never set foot inside! It was on the boat that I got my extreme sunburn. I did it on purpose, so no complaining. I've got a tan almost complete now. You'd think a former lifeguard would know better. But I do that once a summer.
To match my sunburn, I also had my hair colored. I waited till after my day in the sun to do it, because I didn't want to spend money and then sit in the sun lightening it. I went in to my south Florida salon and discussed doing a strawberry blonde color, similar to what my childhood hair was. Apparently, strawberry blonde means something different down there, because I ended up with strawberry hair with blonde streaks. I hated it at first but it has really grown on me. I think the sunburn made it look a bit off at first. Now, with the tan coming in and seeing it on my head for a few days, I really like it!
Among the highlights of the trip was also a chance to go through my grandmother's photos. No one had gone through them since she passed and I was anxious to see if there were any in the many boxes in the hall closet of the trip she and my grandfather took to Italy. I found a TON of absolute gems of a photo. Tin types from the 1800's, photos of my great-grandma as a kid. Photos of my grandma in her 20's in her long hair and long-legged trousers. A photo of my grandfather's 1st communion. And lots from my childhood and my mother's childhood. In my final hours of sifting, I found the file of their Italy trip from 1974. And inside was a single photo with a few relatives in our native city. At last, I had a photo of these mysterious relatives. And even names!
Needless to say, I had a fantastic trip. I've come back and am anxious to go back down there some time this summer. I've also already sent a letter to the church in Italy in the town where we're from, along with the photo and my family tree, asking if any of the women in the photo are still living or if they could provide any documents for me. I'm more determined than ever to complete my Italian citizenship this year.
I've got 42 more days of work. I double checked my plans for the rest of the year and most seem to be in order. There is a lot to do before May 31st but it will all get done. Year 2 will be over. I can't believe we're in the home stretch!
Hope you all are having a good end of March. The warm weather is coming. And you're gonna love it!
KB
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Trying to Take Evil Out of the Classroom
I began the difficult task today of teaching my students how to do their taxes. How many of you would know how to do your taxes without the assistance of tax software or an accountant?
Well, I had a bunch of words on the board and the weekly schedule with THREE DAYS of tax practice this week for my Coop kids. So when 3rd hour came and my Law class walked in, to tackle the big topic of reviewing for their Contracts quiz, I was confronted with an interesting question.
I have an inquisitive student in Law. He's brilliant. And observant. So after several kids had called me over to ask questions on their review guide, this student called me over and asked, "Are you trying to take evil out of the classroom?"
WHAT???
It must have shown on my glass face. So he pointed at the board and said, "taxes."
Right. Are taxes evil? It depends on how you look at them. Where would we be without them? Our roads would be crappy. Funding for defense, social security, medicare, research and many other things, not the least of which is the 6% we pay towards interest on our massive national debt.
So we need to pay taxes. As I told my students, if you have to pay them every year, would you at least like to be informed about why and how they work?
Most didn't know when Tax Day was. Many didn't understand that you got credits and exclusions and deductions. Ohhhh, so many things to teach!
So I suppose I am taking evil out of the classroom. Funny way of putting it but I found it pretty humorous. After all, something big and daunting can be seen as evil until you study it and understand it a little better.
Like Bill Cosby said, "Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." At least in this case, decide to understand it so you are no longer afraid of it.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Well, I had a bunch of words on the board and the weekly schedule with THREE DAYS of tax practice this week for my Coop kids. So when 3rd hour came and my Law class walked in, to tackle the big topic of reviewing for their Contracts quiz, I was confronted with an interesting question.
I have an inquisitive student in Law. He's brilliant. And observant. So after several kids had called me over to ask questions on their review guide, this student called me over and asked, "Are you trying to take evil out of the classroom?"
WHAT???
It must have shown on my glass face. So he pointed at the board and said, "taxes."
Right. Are taxes evil? It depends on how you look at them. Where would we be without them? Our roads would be crappy. Funding for defense, social security, medicare, research and many other things, not the least of which is the 6% we pay towards interest on our massive national debt.
So we need to pay taxes. As I told my students, if you have to pay them every year, would you at least like to be informed about why and how they work?
Most didn't know when Tax Day was. Many didn't understand that you got credits and exclusions and deductions. Ohhhh, so many things to teach!
So I suppose I am taking evil out of the classroom. Funny way of putting it but I found it pretty humorous. After all, something big and daunting can be seen as evil until you study it and understand it a little better.
Like Bill Cosby said, "Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." At least in this case, decide to understand it so you are no longer afraid of it.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Fruition
Can you believe I haven't blogged since Jan 31?
Well, a few housekeeping items, first. My sinus surgery has been amazing....although this weekend I was gifted with my first cold since I was approximately 8 years old. I realize that swimming from age 9-18 kept me healthy and then having antibiotics on a nearly continuous basis between age 20 and 30+ prevented me from catching them. I'm braving through this and nearing my regular energy level. Good thing because kickboxing continues tomorrow!
But back to my Title. Fruition. It's been developing a lot this semester with my students. Little things that show me my students are opening their eyes. In February I took students to Chicago with another teacher to tour and learn about the Board of Trade. I think a lot of students had an eye-opening experience, that the world is bigger than they thought. That work can be harder than they thought.
Then last week I finally had my first speaker of the semester. I had tried to create a weekly speaker series with people from the various industries students want to work in. I had a woman from a local hospital speak about a nursing career. A lot of my students want to go into a medical field and they were extremely interactive with her, asking a lot of questions. Afterwards one of my students said it almost made her cry because it make her passionate to talk about her future medical career. YES!!
This week we're taking taxes. My taxes speakers haven't been responding to me (they hopped on board immediately last year) so it's going to be me teaching how to do them. Lord help me!
Meanwhile, my 2nd speakers, from WICD tv, will be coming in to talk about journalism. I have 1-2 journalism folks in my class. Hopefully they'll speak up and pick their brains.
It's a short one today. I'm tired. And it's past bedtime. So g'night everyone!
Take that next step towards your dream this week, and see where it takes you....
KB
Well, a few housekeeping items, first. My sinus surgery has been amazing....although this weekend I was gifted with my first cold since I was approximately 8 years old. I realize that swimming from age 9-18 kept me healthy and then having antibiotics on a nearly continuous basis between age 20 and 30+ prevented me from catching them. I'm braving through this and nearing my regular energy level. Good thing because kickboxing continues tomorrow!
But back to my Title. Fruition. It's been developing a lot this semester with my students. Little things that show me my students are opening their eyes. In February I took students to Chicago with another teacher to tour and learn about the Board of Trade. I think a lot of students had an eye-opening experience, that the world is bigger than they thought. That work can be harder than they thought.
Then last week I finally had my first speaker of the semester. I had tried to create a weekly speaker series with people from the various industries students want to work in. I had a woman from a local hospital speak about a nursing career. A lot of my students want to go into a medical field and they were extremely interactive with her, asking a lot of questions. Afterwards one of my students said it almost made her cry because it make her passionate to talk about her future medical career. YES!!
This week we're taking taxes. My taxes speakers haven't been responding to me (they hopped on board immediately last year) so it's going to be me teaching how to do them. Lord help me!
Meanwhile, my 2nd speakers, from WICD tv, will be coming in to talk about journalism. I have 1-2 journalism folks in my class. Hopefully they'll speak up and pick their brains.
It's a short one today. I'm tired. And it's past bedtime. So g'night everyone!
Take that next step towards your dream this week, and see where it takes you....
KB
Monday, January 31, 2011
Immigration, Evaluations & John Barry...
It has been a busy week so I figured I'd give you all a brief summary of all that happened. Starting with today (WGN news is on in the background, tuned in to "snowpocalypse" coverage).
I assigned students in my law class to write a Justice Journal last week. My high schoolers write a bit about a current news story they find (trustworthy sources only). I graded them today just before my Einstein Bros. lunch and the best one I received was from one of my quiet, Hispanic Freshmen. Her article was about a proposed Rand Paul bill that would prevent children of illegal immigrants from being legal citizens. Her opinion was very strong in the opposite direction of my own. It was touching to see she found an article that ignited a passion for a topic she believes has meaning in her life. I have no idea if she has an illegal family member in the country but it reinforced the idea that an assignment like this does have merit and purpose. Besides, it was refreshing after reading a plagiarized Journal that stole full sentences from the article that a Junior student had read. Sheesh.
I had my final year evaluation last week with the Principal. She observed my Coop class. I was introducing the concept of maintaining a personal budget. It went REALLY well and the only critique she had for me was that I didn't have the bell schedule up in my room and I ended class 4 minutes early. This bell to bell teaching is tough but I've improved drastically this year.
We're in for some pretty tough weather this week. You know that when Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel is in downtown Chicago that we're in for the bulls-eye of the storm. Love it! We've had ice and freezing rain all afternoon. I listened to the "tink tink tink" on my windows until about 7pm. I love snow. We've got no school tomorrow. I'm hoping we are in school on Wednesday. If we get more than 1 additional snow day we're into June giving finals. Sorry, but by then I'd like my sun and warm weather on my own leisurely day!
FINALLY a few music references to leave you with. If you are curious about the colors for today's blog, I'll clue you in. The gray-ish blue shade was the color of the Dances With Wolves score, one of the most moving movie scores I've ever heard. I used to listen to it over and over and over when I worked at The New World Music Theatre. In fact, when they released my position, the box office manager kindly mailed the cassette tape to me (yes, it was that long ago) which I had left there by accident since she knew I loved it. I had taken care of her plants, after all. Speaking of that building full of memories, I may or may not work for Live Nation this summer. It would be only the 2nd year in 12 that I haven't worked in the music biz. Sometimes I miss all the action and marketing and smoozing. But I love teaching and watching students grow and learn more.
LAST but not least, my favorite NEW tune is by Francesca Battistelli. It's called "This Is the Stuff." Catchy. Fun. And a great pick-up in the morning, especially when I'm not in the best of moods after days without sunshine.
Alright off to sleep. I'm up late for a teacher!
Best of luck to all my readers on the eastern half of the U.S. Stay warm. Stay dry. Stay safe. Let me know how you endure! I'll be watching Dances with Wolves, completely moved by the suspenseful, beautiful music of John Barry.
Buonasera--
KB
I assigned students in my law class to write a Justice Journal last week. My high schoolers write a bit about a current news story they find (trustworthy sources only). I graded them today just before my Einstein Bros. lunch and the best one I received was from one of my quiet, Hispanic Freshmen. Her article was about a proposed Rand Paul bill that would prevent children of illegal immigrants from being legal citizens. Her opinion was very strong in the opposite direction of my own. It was touching to see she found an article that ignited a passion for a topic she believes has meaning in her life. I have no idea if she has an illegal family member in the country but it reinforced the idea that an assignment like this does have merit and purpose. Besides, it was refreshing after reading a plagiarized Journal that stole full sentences from the article that a Junior student had read. Sheesh.
I had my final year evaluation last week with the Principal. She observed my Coop class. I was introducing the concept of maintaining a personal budget. It went REALLY well and the only critique she had for me was that I didn't have the bell schedule up in my room and I ended class 4 minutes early. This bell to bell teaching is tough but I've improved drastically this year.
We're in for some pretty tough weather this week. You know that when Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel is in downtown Chicago that we're in for the bulls-eye of the storm. Love it! We've had ice and freezing rain all afternoon. I listened to the "tink tink tink" on my windows until about 7pm. I love snow. We've got no school tomorrow. I'm hoping we are in school on Wednesday. If we get more than 1 additional snow day we're into June giving finals. Sorry, but by then I'd like my sun and warm weather on my own leisurely day!
FINALLY a few music references to leave you with. If you are curious about the colors for today's blog, I'll clue you in. The gray-ish blue shade was the color of the Dances With Wolves score, one of the most moving movie scores I've ever heard. I used to listen to it over and over and over when I worked at The New World Music Theatre. In fact, when they released my position, the box office manager kindly mailed the cassette tape to me (yes, it was that long ago) which I had left there by accident since she knew I loved it. I had taken care of her plants, after all. Speaking of that building full of memories, I may or may not work for Live Nation this summer. It would be only the 2nd year in 12 that I haven't worked in the music biz. Sometimes I miss all the action and marketing and smoozing. But I love teaching and watching students grow and learn more.
LAST but not least, my favorite NEW tune is by Francesca Battistelli. It's called "This Is the Stuff." Catchy. Fun. And a great pick-up in the morning, especially when I'm not in the best of moods after days without sunshine.
Alright off to sleep. I'm up late for a teacher!
Best of luck to all my readers on the eastern half of the U.S. Stay warm. Stay dry. Stay safe. Let me know how you endure! I'll be watching Dances with Wolves, completely moved by the suspenseful, beautiful music of John Barry.
Buonasera--
KB
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Test Kitchen
I've been experimenting a lot this month with new recipes. I've been stuck in the Italian rut for a while now and I've tried to get out of it. I'm also trying to eat more balanced and for me, that means eating in a way that doesn't set off my insulin-resistance. (Another of my health discoveries of 2010!!)
If you are unfamiliar with insulin resistance, basically, anytime you eat carbs, your blood sugar spikes. So to fix it, you either severely reduce/eliminate your carb intake OR you make sure that every time you eat you get some veggies AND have 1/2 the grams of protein as you do the carbs without overdoing how much you eat. Therefore, I've been trying a lot of protein-packed recipes to add to my routine.
My latest attempt was a pad thai dish. I got the recipe from Food & Wine magazine. I had originally planned on making a Thai Basil chicken dish but couldn't figure out where I had seen the recipe (okay, I had found it at work during lunch on a website but couldn't remember which one. I knew when the recipe called for fish sauce I was probably not going to like it. But I walked to the grocery store anyway, got all my missing ingredients, including the fish sauce and came home to cook.
The Pad Thai looked great but now that I can smell, I knew I probably wouldn't eat it, even after 1/2 hour of prep and cooking. But I kept going and piled a few noodles and chicken and tofu and veg on my plate and took a bite. Nope, too fishy. Waste of money!
The experiment from 2 weeks ago was to replicate the chicken they serve at Chipotle. I had found a website with reliable intel that the recipe really was from Chipotle. A few people who worked at the restaurant confirmed it and despite that being pretty illegal, I forged ahead. First, I attempted making the cilantro-lime rice. PERFECTO! It tasted exactly like the Chipotle rice, although I did overdo the lime just a tad. But on the plus side I got to use my rice cooker again, which I'd been neglecting since this whole insulin-resistance business.
So if the rice worked out, surely the chicken would! I compiled a large list of ingredients (including a whopping 3 cups of Worcester sauce) and marinated the chicken for 24 hours. I then pulled out my cast-iron stove-top grill pan (anything with that many hyphens must be bound for trouble, right?) and kicked on the stove. I put the chicken on the pan. It smelled great and even remembered to turn on the exhaust fan above the stove. The recipe called for high heat so I had the stove cranked up to 7 or 8. I never cook with it that high!
Sure enough, the smoke detectors started blaring about 12 minutes into the grilling process. So in the dead of winter, I cracked open all my windows and my front door and began flapping my hand towel at the nearest smoke detector to get it to turn off. I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking!
If you recall, this post is about the disappointments in my test kitchen this month. Well, hate to say it but the chicken did NOT live up to the bar that the rice recipe had set. It was good, so long as the taste you were looking for was akin to A-1 steak sauce smothered over chicken. I couldn't taste the lime or the cilantro or the garlic at all.
I went back to basics this week. Not my norm but still, my comfort zone - Italian. So far it's been pizza, italian sausage with bell peppers and onions (classic!) with a pinch of red pepper flake AND what is apparently a staple in the region of Italy where my family is from, ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach. YUM! Hello leftovers tomorrow. It's not exactly up to protein-carb balance but I'm close. I've been getting my veggies in (add them to the pizza before it goes in the oven - so good!) and inching closer to the balance point. January is still "recovery month" and for now, I'm still working out the kinks. But all in all feeling a WORLD better than I have in years.
Baby steps, people. Small steps will keep you moving forward. So long as you keep doing that, you can reach the goals. What is yours?
KB
If you are unfamiliar with insulin resistance, basically, anytime you eat carbs, your blood sugar spikes. So to fix it, you either severely reduce/eliminate your carb intake OR you make sure that every time you eat you get some veggies AND have 1/2 the grams of protein as you do the carbs without overdoing how much you eat. Therefore, I've been trying a lot of protein-packed recipes to add to my routine.
My latest attempt was a pad thai dish. I got the recipe from Food & Wine magazine. I had originally planned on making a Thai Basil chicken dish but couldn't figure out where I had seen the recipe (okay, I had found it at work during lunch on a website but couldn't remember which one. I knew when the recipe called for fish sauce I was probably not going to like it. But I walked to the grocery store anyway, got all my missing ingredients, including the fish sauce and came home to cook.
The Pad Thai looked great but now that I can smell, I knew I probably wouldn't eat it, even after 1/2 hour of prep and cooking. But I kept going and piled a few noodles and chicken and tofu and veg on my plate and took a bite. Nope, too fishy. Waste of money!
The experiment from 2 weeks ago was to replicate the chicken they serve at Chipotle. I had found a website with reliable intel that the recipe really was from Chipotle. A few people who worked at the restaurant confirmed it and despite that being pretty illegal, I forged ahead. First, I attempted making the cilantro-lime rice. PERFECTO! It tasted exactly like the Chipotle rice, although I did overdo the lime just a tad. But on the plus side I got to use my rice cooker again, which I'd been neglecting since this whole insulin-resistance business.
So if the rice worked out, surely the chicken would! I compiled a large list of ingredients (including a whopping 3 cups of Worcester sauce) and marinated the chicken for 24 hours. I then pulled out my cast-iron stove-top grill pan (anything with that many hyphens must be bound for trouble, right?) and kicked on the stove. I put the chicken on the pan. It smelled great and even remembered to turn on the exhaust fan above the stove. The recipe called for high heat so I had the stove cranked up to 7 or 8. I never cook with it that high!
Sure enough, the smoke detectors started blaring about 12 minutes into the grilling process. So in the dead of winter, I cracked open all my windows and my front door and began flapping my hand towel at the nearest smoke detector to get it to turn off. I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking!
If you recall, this post is about the disappointments in my test kitchen this month. Well, hate to say it but the chicken did NOT live up to the bar that the rice recipe had set. It was good, so long as the taste you were looking for was akin to A-1 steak sauce smothered over chicken. I couldn't taste the lime or the cilantro or the garlic at all.
I went back to basics this week. Not my norm but still, my comfort zone - Italian. So far it's been pizza, italian sausage with bell peppers and onions (classic!) with a pinch of red pepper flake AND what is apparently a staple in the region of Italy where my family is from, ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach. YUM! Hello leftovers tomorrow. It's not exactly up to protein-carb balance but I'm close. I've been getting my veggies in (add them to the pizza before it goes in the oven - so good!) and inching closer to the balance point. January is still "recovery month" and for now, I'm still working out the kinks. But all in all feeling a WORLD better than I have in years.
Baby steps, people. Small steps will keep you moving forward. So long as you keep doing that, you can reach the goals. What is yours?
KB
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Random Day In Teacherland
I realized today, thanks to Twitter, that most people have no idea what goes on in any given classroom in a day. Or in my case, what exactly do you teach, again? Business, right?
So what on earth do I teach? Let me give you a brief peek at my classroom today. (And just to note, this is NOT what a typical day is like, it just happens to reflect today's experience from behind the desk).
Class starts at 8am. It snowed 2 inches overnight and it took longer than usual to scrape off the car. Normally I'm in my office on the 3rd floor by 7:30 and then by 7:40 I've gathered what I need for the day and head to the 2nd floor to my classroom.
I have a grand total of 5 students for my 1st period. Most teachers think this would be a dream. I disagree. I am all for smaller class sizes but in the realm of 15-20 students. Five is really tough in a 50 minute period. Especially today. At the bell at 8am, I had 1 student. The same thing happened yesterday and I made the decision to go ahead with my lesson plans no matter what. This student just gets private class, is all. Eventually, through the 50 minutes all 5 kids showed up but here's the kicker. Today's lesson was on Parliamentary Procedure. How do you teach how to run a meeting (including a cool simulation) with just 1 person? Who would 2nd the motions we make? Nonetheless, we had a good simulation with 4 of the 5 students and I think they understood how it works and why it is used. Quiz on Monday.
2nd hour I had 1/2 my students. There are a lot of kids out sick so I'm sure that accounted for a few of them. Today was a college-like discussion on the roles of women in the workplace since 1910. I had them read an article the last 2 days and respond to some prompts. I even added pictures to the article to match the various time periods. With my 4 gentleman and 3 women it was like pulling teeth. I don't know if everyone read the whole article (only 4 people submitted the homework) and the guys were pretty shy about talking about the subject. 50 minutes of torture which would have been much better should the other 8 kids been there to give input. Moving on...(downing my slim fast low-carb drink snack first).
3rd hour is my Law class. I finally had all but 1 student in this class. Students were asked to find cases and identify which court they would have taken place in. 3 students of 20 did the assignment. Ugh! Part of this was even Extra Credit! Really, nothing? So I moved from the levels of the courts to the 2 key types of trials - Civil & Criminal. Kids were silent as lambs the entire period. No questions. No curiosity. No tie-ins despite my hints and prompting questions. Wow.
I round out my morning with study hall. It's my least favorite class of the day. It's babysitting. Sit down. Stay quite. Do homework. The computer lab is closed today. No food in this room. Put the food away. You, move your seat since you can't stop distracting others. No you can't go see another teacher unless they've given you a pass. 50 minutes. Babysitting. Hey, at least these students had personality and energy! I just wish they'd follow the rules. Most of them are seniors and have never had to follow the rules in study hall. It makes it tough. Here's the clue. Hall=large room and Study=reading, doing homework or learning in some format. Put them together and you've got 4th hour. Just do it!
I spent the rest of my day working on finding places that are hiring for 2 students who need work hours. Calling different professions that may want to come speak to my class. Writing a quiz and review sheet. Working on a "chart" that shows what classes in my department are appropriate for which grade level (long overdue).
It is no wonder I am tired when I get home! Now you know what a teacher does all day. Granted, today was completely a-typical. Normally I have tons of conversation, questions and "a-ha!" moments. Today was just an off day. We'll see what tomorrow brings. That is if we have school. The current temperature with windchill is -6. (-21C which looks much more dramatic and the measurement my foreign blog readers use). All in all, I'm excited to rest this weekend. I feel sickness coming and I'm doing all I can to stave it off. Please stay away little sickness!
G'nite folks. More pleasant thoughts and perhaps another peek into my Italia vaca on the next edition.
Stay warm & dry! KB
So what on earth do I teach? Let me give you a brief peek at my classroom today. (And just to note, this is NOT what a typical day is like, it just happens to reflect today's experience from behind the desk).
Class starts at 8am. It snowed 2 inches overnight and it took longer than usual to scrape off the car. Normally I'm in my office on the 3rd floor by 7:30 and then by 7:40 I've gathered what I need for the day and head to the 2nd floor to my classroom.
I have a grand total of 5 students for my 1st period. Most teachers think this would be a dream. I disagree. I am all for smaller class sizes but in the realm of 15-20 students. Five is really tough in a 50 minute period. Especially today. At the bell at 8am, I had 1 student. The same thing happened yesterday and I made the decision to go ahead with my lesson plans no matter what. This student just gets private class, is all. Eventually, through the 50 minutes all 5 kids showed up but here's the kicker. Today's lesson was on Parliamentary Procedure. How do you teach how to run a meeting (including a cool simulation) with just 1 person? Who would 2nd the motions we make? Nonetheless, we had a good simulation with 4 of the 5 students and I think they understood how it works and why it is used. Quiz on Monday.
2nd hour I had 1/2 my students. There are a lot of kids out sick so I'm sure that accounted for a few of them. Today was a college-like discussion on the roles of women in the workplace since 1910. I had them read an article the last 2 days and respond to some prompts. I even added pictures to the article to match the various time periods. With my 4 gentleman and 3 women it was like pulling teeth. I don't know if everyone read the whole article (only 4 people submitted the homework) and the guys were pretty shy about talking about the subject. 50 minutes of torture which would have been much better should the other 8 kids been there to give input. Moving on...(downing my slim fast low-carb drink snack first).
3rd hour is my Law class. I finally had all but 1 student in this class. Students were asked to find cases and identify which court they would have taken place in. 3 students of 20 did the assignment. Ugh! Part of this was even Extra Credit! Really, nothing? So I moved from the levels of the courts to the 2 key types of trials - Civil & Criminal. Kids were silent as lambs the entire period. No questions. No curiosity. No tie-ins despite my hints and prompting questions. Wow.
I round out my morning with study hall. It's my least favorite class of the day. It's babysitting. Sit down. Stay quite. Do homework. The computer lab is closed today. No food in this room. Put the food away. You, move your seat since you can't stop distracting others. No you can't go see another teacher unless they've given you a pass. 50 minutes. Babysitting. Hey, at least these students had personality and energy! I just wish they'd follow the rules. Most of them are seniors and have never had to follow the rules in study hall. It makes it tough. Here's the clue. Hall=large room and Study=reading, doing homework or learning in some format. Put them together and you've got 4th hour. Just do it!
I spent the rest of my day working on finding places that are hiring for 2 students who need work hours. Calling different professions that may want to come speak to my class. Writing a quiz and review sheet. Working on a "chart" that shows what classes in my department are appropriate for which grade level (long overdue).
It is no wonder I am tired when I get home! Now you know what a teacher does all day. Granted, today was completely a-typical. Normally I have tons of conversation, questions and "a-ha!" moments. Today was just an off day. We'll see what tomorrow brings. That is if we have school. The current temperature with windchill is -6. (-21C which looks much more dramatic and the measurement my foreign blog readers use). All in all, I'm excited to rest this weekend. I feel sickness coming and I'm doing all I can to stave it off. Please stay away little sickness!
G'nite folks. More pleasant thoughts and perhaps another peek into my Italia vaca on the next edition.
Stay warm & dry! KB
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Italy Part 6: Isle di Capri
I sit here on the couch tonight eating ice cream, imagining that it is chocolate gelatto. It's not and I'm not fooled. But since it has been a week or so since I blogged last and I HAVE NOT even come close to sharing all of my experiences from the land of my ancestors, I figured I'd return to Italia and share what happened on our final day down in the south of the country.
In this blog we find ourselves transported back to Sorrento, the colorful resort town on the west coast of Italy about 2/3 of the way down the length of the "boot" and on the coast of Tyrrhenian Sea. It is warm and all of us are dressed in sundresses, shorts and tees, and flip-flops. Some of my friends already have had too much sun, the red hue a symbol of a fun trip so far. I had managed to stay bronze up until this point and am hoping to stay that way. I don't like sunburns. But knowing that today was all about being in the sun, I knew it was most likely to be a lost cause. But soooo much fun!
We walked about 25
minutes from our hotel in Sorrento, through the maze of linear streets and back alleys that make Sorrento so characteristically fun. Finally we came to the overlook near the beach and descended the 3 long flights of stone stairways down to the sea. From this point we headed to our ship which would cross the sometimes rough waters to the Isle of Capri (pronounced KAH pri). My parents had done this journey a few years ago and had a rough 30 minute trip to the island. We had nothing of the kind. It was smooth sailing and gorgeous. And warm.
If you are wealthy and want to experience the high life in southern Italy, Capri is the place to go. It's 2 main towns are situated on the TOP of the island which is an oval shaped piece of land with 2 mini mountains at the heart of its center. Beaches and ports abound along the shoreline and winding, narrow roads lead the mile or so uphill to the towns of Capri and AnaCapri. People come to Sorrento to party and shop (if you stay on the main drag) and just be free. People come to Capri to BE SEEN shopping.
If you stay near the coast, which means laying in the sun for hours on end, you won't be disappointed. There are cute, independent shops and restaurants near all the beaches which are either public or private (you pay to be on that stretch of beach). There are 2 alternatives to living the life in Capri - the first is taking a boatride around the island and if you are lucky, swim in some of the grottos (grotti?), or caves, which glow different colors depending on the sunlight and type of rock that outline the floor of the grotto. The other is to climb the stairs to the top of one of the towns (25 min or so straight up climbing - all stairs!) unless you have cash in which case you hire a taxi and get a ride to the top.
Our day began with the island boat tour. Our closeknit group of 50 took 2 boats around the island. We sailed through rocks that formed arches over the turquoise blue waters. We swam in a few of the grottos (Not the famous blue grotto which you have to pay extra for and usually has an hour+ wait. It is the most brilliant of the grottos and will just be something I save for another visit, right?) We saw lighthouses perched perilously on rocks high above the water and strange statues shaped like people sunbathing on the rocks above.
[Above the arched rocks (left) and swimming in the green grotto (right). We swam from this point through the cave and out the other side.]
One note about the grotto swim. We had been warned there were jellyfish in the waters. Someone yelled they felt one and we all began swimming frantically for the other side of the grotto where the boat was picking us up. It was not funny at the tip and sort of rushed the experience (the water was cold) but it sure was neat to swim with a group in glowing green water!
During another brief stop on our boat tour around Capri we did some rock jumping. Nothing too crazy, the rocks were no
t high, but having a fear of falling (aka fear of heights) makes the challenge difficult. I really wanted to do it. When I saw Muriel was the first one to do it, I summoned my courage and treaded water in line to get up on the rocks. It took a few seconds but I mentally pushed myself off the edge and LEAP! into the water. I could do it again should I be given the opportunity!
[The rock we jumped off of is in the background on the left in this photo]
After rock jumping and the boat tour we had lunch at a lovely restaurant near the beach just below Capri. I had amazing spinach ravioli smothered in a tomato sauce. It was divine! Just the thing to prep me for a mile long stair climb up to Capri!
From lunch, our group split into several and so it was that 10 of us found our way to the stairs that led to the "mountaintop" town of Capri. We climbed for several minutes up
a winding, stone stairway that could fit about 4 people across. The signs pointing the way to "Centro" were done in mosaic tiles which fit the atmosphere of the island perfectly. Artistic but natural. Every 7 minutes or so our stairway would open up to the road that wound its way up the island. Along the stairway were doorways and gates that led to homes of inhabitants of this spectacular place. I can't imagine living here or growing up here but it sure would be special, although much too isolated for my taste.
About 1/2 way up the hike, we saw a gentleman who was obviously taking a break or waiting for someone. He was the reddest man I have ever seen, probably in his 40's. His legs, arms, neck and face were all the color of a tomato. This guy was going to be in pain by tomorrow if he wasn't already. We had a good laugh and paused for the last of the line of our little group to catch up and get a glimpse. We asked a couple climbing back down how much further. They said 10-15 minutes more. What a workout!
Eventually we reached our destination and the top of Capri was worth it. The water below was the most amazing shade of blue. You could even see people swimming down be
low, the water so clear that you could see their legs underneath the surface. The town square that we "surfaced" at was bedecked in flowers of every shade. The buildings were all shades of peach and yellow and tan which only served to enhance the multitude of flowers. People were milling about everywhere and just to the right was the main road in Capri and the street lined with every high-end European brand you could think of. We window shopped. Some also bought postcards and gelatto or lemonade slushies.
We did not have much time to spend up top because we had a deadline to get back down to the port for our boat back to Sorrento. All in all, we spent probably 30 minutes up in Capri. Little did we know our adventure was to continue! Instead of taking the same stairs down we had used to get up to Capri, someone said there was a shorter way down if we just walked down the road a bit. So we did, only to find that there were no stairs. Thus it was that our band of 10 walked the narrow 2-way road which barely fit more than 1 car at a time let alone 2 cars and a line of walkers
hoping in vain to see stairs that would take us down the mountain. The road wound ever further from the port which had been just below the town square and some of us were not only worried about being hit by a car but missing the boat because we were getting off course. One of the calmer, logical souls amongst our crew decided that all roads lead to the port and eventually we'd get there no matter how meandering the road was. I decided to just enjoy the view and the challenge of walking down a steep road in flip flops with cars whizzing by.
We eventually passed a set of stairs about 1/2 way down but weren't sure where they led to and decided to stay on the road which had curved back towards the port. The way down took longer than the hike up but with laughter we made it with time to spare. At the port we were greeted by an old Italian guy in bright orange who seemed to be both a mime and amazingly strong. He mimed a few things and then did about 25 pushups! After putting on a show for all of us waiting for the boat, he bowed and then let his tour group away from port towards the beach. We couldn't believe this guy wasn't just a fisherman having fun but actually a guide!
In this blog we find ourselves transported back to Sorrento, the colorful resort town on the west coast of Italy about 2/3 of the way down the length of the "boot" and on the coast of Tyrrhenian Sea. It is warm and all of us are dressed in sundresses, shorts and tees, and flip-flops. Some of my friends already have had too much sun, the red hue a symbol of a fun trip so far. I had managed to stay bronze up until this point and am hoping to stay that way. I don't like sunburns. But knowing that today was all about being in the sun, I knew it was most likely to be a lost cause. But soooo much fun!
We walked about 25
minutes from our hotel in Sorrento, through the maze of linear streets and back alleys that make Sorrento so characteristically fun. Finally we came to the overlook near the beach and descended the 3 long flights of stone stairways down to the sea. From this point we headed to our ship which would cross the sometimes rough waters to the Isle of Capri (pronounced KAH pri). My parents had done this journey a few years ago and had a rough 30 minute trip to the island. We had nothing of the kind. It was smooth sailing and gorgeous. And warm.If you are wealthy and want to experience the high life in southern Italy, Capri is the place to go. It's 2 main towns are situated on the TOP of the island which is an oval shaped piece of land with 2 mini mountains at the heart of its center. Beaches and ports abound along the shoreline and winding, narrow roads lead the mile or so uphill to the towns of Capri and AnaCapri. People come to Sorrento to party and shop (if you stay on the main drag) and just be free. People come to Capri to BE SEEN shopping.
If you stay near the coast, which means laying in the sun for hours on end, you won't be disappointed. There are cute, independent shops and restaurants near all the beaches which are either public or private (you pay to be on that stretch of beach). There are 2 alternatives to living the life in Capri - the first is taking a boatride around the island and if you are lucky, swim in some of the grottos (grotti?), or caves, which glow different colors depending on the sunlight and type of rock that outline the floor of the grotto. The other is to climb the stairs to the top of one of the towns (25 min or so straight up climbing - all stairs!) unless you have cash in which case you hire a taxi and get a ride to the top.
Our day began with the island boat tour. Our closeknit group of 50 took 2 boats around the island. We sailed through rocks that formed arches over the turquoise blue waters. We swam in a few of the grottos (Not the famous blue grotto which you have to pay extra for and usually has an hour+ wait. It is the most brilliant of the grottos and will just be something I save for another visit, right?) We saw lighthouses perched perilously on rocks high above the water and strange statues shaped like people sunbathing on the rocks above.
[Above the arched rocks (left) and swimming in the green grotto (right). We swam from this point through the cave and out the other side.]
One note about the grotto swim. We had been warned there were jellyfish in the waters. Someone yelled they felt one and we all began swimming frantically for the other side of the grotto where the boat was picking us up. It was not funny at the tip and sort of rushed the experience (the water was cold) but it sure was neat to swim with a group in glowing green water!
During another brief stop on our boat tour around Capri we did some rock jumping. Nothing too crazy, the rocks were no
t high, but having a fear of falling (aka fear of heights) makes the challenge difficult. I really wanted to do it. When I saw Muriel was the first one to do it, I summoned my courage and treaded water in line to get up on the rocks. It took a few seconds but I mentally pushed myself off the edge and LEAP! into the water. I could do it again should I be given the opportunity![The rock we jumped off of is in the background on the left in this photo]
After rock jumping and the boat tour we had lunch at a lovely restaurant near the beach just below Capri. I had amazing spinach ravioli smothered in a tomato sauce. It was divine! Just the thing to prep me for a mile long stair climb up to Capri!
From lunch, our group split into several and so it was that 10 of us found our way to the stairs that led to the "mountaintop" town of Capri. We climbed for several minutes up
a winding, stone stairway that could fit about 4 people across. The signs pointing the way to "Centro" were done in mosaic tiles which fit the atmosphere of the island perfectly. Artistic but natural. Every 7 minutes or so our stairway would open up to the road that wound its way up the island. Along the stairway were doorways and gates that led to homes of inhabitants of this spectacular place. I can't imagine living here or growing up here but it sure would be special, although much too isolated for my taste.About 1/2 way up the hike, we saw a gentleman who was obviously taking a break or waiting for someone. He was the reddest man I have ever seen, probably in his 40's. His legs, arms, neck and face were all the color of a tomato. This guy was going to be in pain by tomorrow if he wasn't already. We had a good laugh and paused for the last of the line of our little group to catch up and get a glimpse. We asked a couple climbing back down how much further. They said 10-15 minutes more. What a workout!
Eventually we reached our destination and the top of Capri was worth it. The water below was the most amazing shade of blue. You could even see people swimming down be
low, the water so clear that you could see their legs underneath the surface. The town square that we "surfaced" at was bedecked in flowers of every shade. The buildings were all shades of peach and yellow and tan which only served to enhance the multitude of flowers. People were milling about everywhere and just to the right was the main road in Capri and the street lined with every high-end European brand you could think of. We window shopped. Some also bought postcards and gelatto or lemonade slushies.We did not have much time to spend up top because we had a deadline to get back down to the port for our boat back to Sorrento. All in all, we spent probably 30 minutes up in Capri. Little did we know our adventure was to continue! Instead of taking the same stairs down we had used to get up to Capri, someone said there was a shorter way down if we just walked down the road a bit. So we did, only to find that there were no stairs. Thus it was that our band of 10 walked the narrow 2-way road which barely fit more than 1 car at a time let alone 2 cars and a line of walkers
hoping in vain to see stairs that would take us down the mountain. The road wound ever further from the port which had been just below the town square and some of us were not only worried about being hit by a car but missing the boat because we were getting off course. One of the calmer, logical souls amongst our crew decided that all roads lead to the port and eventually we'd get there no matter how meandering the road was. I decided to just enjoy the view and the challenge of walking down a steep road in flip flops with cars whizzing by.We eventually passed a set of stairs about 1/2 way down but weren't sure where they led to and decided to stay on the road which had curved back towards the port. The way down took longer than the hike up but with laughter we made it with time to spare. At the port we were greeted by an old Italian guy in bright orange who seemed to be both a mime and amazingly strong. He mimed a few things and then did about 25 pushups! After putting on a show for all of us waiting for the boat, he bowed and then let his tour group away from port towards the beach. We couldn't believe this guy wasn't just a fisherman having fun but actually a guide!
Our visit to Capri had been relaxing and a great workout at the same time. Every place in Italy has a unique quality to 
them and are worth several days' visit. I will definitely head back to Capri some day, even though my heart tends to call me towards Florence (the subject of my next Italy blog and stop on our tour), Rome and Modena. I want to climb the stairs again, perhaps do more than window shop and even take the tram up AnaCapri which is said to have a view that is even more spectacular than the one from Capri. Nothing will match the laughter and personalities of the group I was with on this visit. That's what makes vacation so much fun. Every trip is a special moment captured for all time with a special group of people or individual.
them and are worth several days' visit. I will definitely head back to Capri some day, even though my heart tends to call me towards Florence (the subject of my next Italy blog and stop on our tour), Rome and Modena. I want to climb the stairs again, perhaps do more than window shop and even take the tram up AnaCapri which is said to have a view that is even more spectacular than the one from Capri. Nothing will match the laughter and personalities of the group I was with on this visit. That's what makes vacation so much fun. Every trip is a special moment captured for all time with a special group of people or individual.
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